


Black Patent Shoes

by deviltakethehindmost



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Armitage Hux is a Jerk, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Poe Dameron Is A Mess, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-02-28 12:54:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13271859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deviltakethehindmost/pseuds/deviltakethehindmost
Summary: The Teacher AU no one ever asked for.Poe Dameron is the new Art Teacher and Hux is the horrible Deputy Headteacher, that Poe is inexplicably incredibly attracted too.





	1. Chapter 1

Poe always hated his first day at a new school. It meant standing in the staff room waiting for someone to take pity on him, introducing himself to new students hoping they didn’t sense any weakness and many other horrendous things. Things were particularly concerning due to his new place of work being so prestigious. 

He still could not quite fathom how he’d managed to get this job but he supposed that even fancy places needed an art teacher. Finn, his flatmate, had raised his eyebrows when he’d told them about his new job. Apparently it had quite a reputation for being a pretentious place filled with pretentious people. 

Obviously he could not spend the entire day in his car and so he opened the door, climbed out and walked towards the imposing, old fashioned building that was his place of work. 

As he climbed the stairs that led to the front entrance he surveyed the massive number of windows. Why would a building need that many windows? He felt at the moment like the sole reason was to make people feel as though they were constantly being watched. 

An older lady appeared from the open doorway only a few steps away from where he stood. It took him a second to recognise her as Mrs Organa-Solo. The stern but trustworthy woman who was the recently appointed headteacher and the person who had hired him. 

“Welcome, Mr Dameron!” she said and fixed him with a warm smile. 

Suddenly he felt quite at ease. It was odd to find how all it took was a smile. She motioned for him to follow her and so he did just that. The building felt a little warmer on the inside: student’s work was hung from the walls and the lights were bright and warm. 

“I’m afraid I can’t stick around for long, I have a meeting to attend. So I shall have to leave you with whichever of my second in commands I can find. We’ll go to the staffroom and see, shall we?” she said and Poe felt himself sink a little. She felt like his only ally in a sea of unknown enemies. 

When they walked into the staffroom it quickly became apparent that this would be quite fruitless. There were two men huddled around an ancient looking coffee machine. Mrs Organa-Solo rolled her eyes when she saw them but still made the effort to introduce them all. 

“Mr Dameron is our new art teacher,” she announced and both men quickly turned to face her.

The first man stepped forward. He was an older man, grey haired but still handsome in a rugged way.

“Hi, Mr Dameron, I’m Han,” he said and smirked at Leia.

Poe realised this was Han Solo, Leia’s husband and the famous physical education teacher Finn had raved about for far too long when he’d mentioned his new school. He’d expected someone less like a grumpy old man. 

The other man simply smiled at him due to the fact he had a mouthful of a massive pancake, loaded with bananas and syrup. It was a smile he recognised and it took him a second to make the connection: Leia had the exact same smile. 

“This is Luke,” Han added, and smiled fondly at the other man. 

Without much else being said Poe was hurried out of the room as she obviously didn’t trust either Han or Luke to guide him through his first day. 

“I know it must seem strange to you that so many of our teachers are technically part of my family,” she said, softly, “I met Han here, you know, and let’s just say Luke and I were not aware of our familial relationship for quite a while.”

That’s all she said on the subject and Poe didn’t pry. They walked in silence until they arrived at a door marked ‘Miss Holdo’. She knocked but received no answer. This seemed to disappoint her quite a bit, which for some reason made Poe worried. Leia knocked again before she sighed quietly and moved to the next door. For some reason she knocked on the door with a little more trepidation, like this was not how she had wanted the situation to turn out. 

“Are you looking for me?” 

The voice came from behind Poe which caused him to jump. To her credit Leia stayed perfectly still before she slowly turned around and then Poe followed suit. He managed to stop the little gasp that almost escaped his lips. 

A tall man stood there. He was incredibly pale with a shock of red hair that was combed to perfection. As he looked down Poe saw a perfectly tailored black suit that probably cost more than his entire wardrobe combined. At the bottom he saw some perfectly polished patent leather shoes. The man was hot. Really hot. If he’d noticed Poe blatantly ogling him he didn’t comment.

“Ah yes, Hux. As you know I have a meeting with the school board this morning so I need you to show our new recruit the ropes,” she explained quickly and efficiently, “This is Poe Dameron, our new art teacher.”

Hux regarded him with a mixture of annoyance and disdain. His nose wrinkled as he looked Poe up and down in a way that was very different to how Poe had just looked at him. There was a long silence.

“Hux. Show him around,” she turned to Poe, “I’ll try and catch you at some point to make sure your first day is going well.”

“Thank you,” he tried to smile and she returned the strained smile before she turned and walked down the corridor. He watched her until she disappeared from view.

“You’re not a dog being abandoned by its master so stop looking like it,” Hux snapped, “Now follow me.”

Hux stormed down the corridor as though he was on his way to commit some terrible deed. As they walked Poe considered that perhaps he was about to do something awful. 

Without any warning he halted and swung back around to face Poe. 

“This is your classroom,” he announced as he turned back around and opened the door in front of him. 

Before Poe managed to react at all, an opened tin of paint hurtled towards Hux’s head. To his immense surprise Hux managed to dodge it almost entirely. Only his jacket appeared to be splashed. 

“For fucks sake! Fucking students are bloody ridiculous. There isn’t enough discipline in this stupid bloody school. My jacket is fucking ruined.”

Hux continued his rant further; he hardly paused for breath as he did so. Poe could do nothing except watched as he swore and cursed for another minute or two. The paint was white and it was fair to agree that the suit jacket was ruined completely. 

“It might wash off,” Poe offered in an attempt to be optimistic. 

“Of course it won’t fucking wash off,” he practically snarled. 

He stared at the paint on his jacket a little longer before he almost ripped the garment off. He gathered it into a little ball and stood there with it grasped tightly in his fist. Hux looked utterly furious. 

With the current situation Poe decided it was inadvisable to look down at Hux in his shirt. However, he couldn’t help himself. It was worth it. Hux was skinny but his chest still looked well defined enough. The muscles were slight, he kept in good shape but made no effort to bulk himself up. Suddenly Poe was forced to do everything he could not to imagine the pale skin that the tight shirt hid. 

This time when he looked up and made eye contact Hux merely raised an eyebrow. It was as though he had simply filed in his mind what he had just witnessed. 

“This is your room. There’s a copy of your timetable on the desk. Have fun.”

With that Hux barrelled off down the corridor. 

 

*

At lunch he stood for about thirty seconds before a little brunette woman appeared beside him and grinned a little manically. 

“Hey, I’m Rey. Do you want to eat lunch with us?” she asked and motioned towards Han and Luke. 

“Yeah, sure,” Poe replied, filled with relief that he wouldn’t have to insert himself into a conversation. 

When he sat down the two men he met earlier smiled. Somehow Luke had his mouth stuffed full of food again. This time it seemed to be some sort of falafel and hummus wrap, it looked delicious.

“So did Holdo show you round? She might seem a little aloof at first but she’s brilliant,” Han said as Luke nodded in agreement. 

“No, she wasn’t in her office. Hux showed me round instead. Showed round is probably a stretch though, he sort of marched me to my classroom, got paint on his jacket and then left,” Poe explained. 

Han started to laugh as did Rey. Meanwhile Luke tried to prevent his sandwich from exiting his mouth. 

“I can’t believe Leia subjected you to Hux on your first day,” Han chuckled, “The man’s the biggest dick on the planet.”

“He once gave me in to trouble because my shoelaces were untied and that set a bad example for students,” Rey smiled and rolled her eyes, “He’s got a rod rammed so far up his arse, it’s unbelievable.”

It reassured Poe to know that Hux was not a well-liked man. He tried to like almost everyone he met, especially if they were as pretty as the red haired man. However, he just couldn’t like Hux at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Poe was forced to attend Head of Department meetings. He couldn’t really see why as he was the only art teacher in the school. He informed Hux of this as he walked into the meeting and was met with an icy glare.

“Unfortunately every department has to be represented,” Hux said, his voice was like stone, “Even the unnecessary ones.”

“The arts are just as important as anything else,” Poe replied, anger built up quickly in his voice.

“Yes. Of course they are,” Hux smiled in the most irritatingly patronising way possible. 

With that Hux marched off which left Poe stood alone. He glanced quickly around the room and spotted Han sat at the other end of the long table. It seemed he was in a deep conversation with Miss Holdo, the much more pleasant counterpart of Hux. Despite Poe’s initial thoughts about the man, it had been completely confirmed over the past few weeks that he was a total bastard. Never before had he met a man so happy to cause abject misery in staff and pupils alike. 

Before the meeting began Poe walked to sit beside Han; he didn’t want to end up stuck next to someone boring. He wished Rey was a Head of Department. It was likely she would get the job in a few years when Luke decided to retire. Until then he would have to suffer through these meetings without her to make bitchy comments with. 

“Hope you had a good night sleep, kid,” Han chuckled, “You’re gonna need it once Hux starts droning on.”

As the meeting progressed Poe realised Han really hadn’t been joking. Hux talked and talked and talked about absolutely nothing interesting for almost two hours. Then he hardly allowed anyone to speak. Poe was bored out of his mind and could no longer fight the yawn that escaped his mouth.

“Am I boring you, Mr Dameron?” Hux asked and the entire room turned around to face him. 

Poe felt his cheeks flush as Hux smiled from the top of the table, he looked far too smug. 

“No, I’m finding all of this riveting,” Poe replied, as cheerfully as possible. 

A few around the table stifled laughs and Han openly snorted in amusement. Meanwhile Hux looked absolutely murderous with rage. Poe considered that this probably wasn’t the most sensible course of action. He breathed in deeply and hoped for the best. Although the situation did not look promising. 

Hux still looked angry but probably not murderous, it seemed a good sign. He glanced down at the pile of papers in front of him and then looked back up, then he repeated the motion again. And then again. For a moment he looked a little nervous, as if the interruption had thrown him off.   
“Yes, well, I think that’s all I had for today. If I think of anything I’ll send you all an email,” Hux announced and looked back down at his papers.

When everyone else started to leave Poe decided to follow suit. He was halfway across the room when Hux looked up, directly at him and caught him as he watched. 

“Mr Dameron, could you stay back a minute?” Hux asked, but they both knew it wasn’t really a question. 

Poe nodded and Han patted him on the back as he exited the room. 

After that the room quickly emptied and soon it was just them. Hux didn’t speak until they were completely alone and he was sure of it. 

“I didn’t appreciate your behaviour there,” he said.

“Look, I’m sorry. I was out of line,” Poe replied, genuinely, he had been a bit of an arsehole really, “I won’t do it again.”

Hux sighed. It didn’t look like his apology would be easily accepted. 

“I know your type: artsy rebel who thinks he’s too cool for meetings and rules. I don’t put up with that shit. Leia and Amilyn might have time for it but I don’t.”

“Alright, alright. I get it, you don’t like me or my teaching method. I’m laid back and you’re…well…not laid back at all,” Poe faltered and wondered just how a big a hole he’d just dug himself. 

Hux sighed again. Poe didn’t know what to do. He was tempted to run away very quickly as he saw even more anger in Hux’s face. 

“Are you telling me that I’m too uptight?” Hux asked, as he stood up quickly and walked around the table to beside Poe “Or am I too strict? Too much of a square?”

“No…it’s just-”

“Cut out the bullshit, Dameron,” Hux snapped, “I know almost everyone in this building thinks I’m an arsehole. They just don’t say it to my face. But you need to understand that some of these children need that. If they want to get anywhere in life then they need discipline.”

That annoyed Poe. Children with issues didn’t need to be shouted at; they needed help. 

“Maybe if you actually listened to them then you’d see why they acted like that. Some of them have horrendous lives outside these walls,” Poe explained, as he felt himself anger too, “Maybe if you understood what they’re going through.”

Hux’s face darkened more than Poe believed possible. He looked utterly furious and he’d somehow moved even closer to Poe. It was hard not to think how hot Hux was when he got this angry.

“Oh go fuck yourself,” he snarled, “They have a shit home life, so fucking what? It’s not a fucking excuse. If I hadn’t had strict teachers at school then I would never have gotten to where I am now.”

He froze once he said that, as if he’d realised that was a piece of personal information just a little too late. Poe reached forward to touch his shoulder but the other man flinched away. He saw the pain his Hux’s eyes and he wanted to help him. Somehow the words just wouldn’t come.

“You can go now. I’m sure you’ve got lots of things to be getting on with,” Hux said quietly, eyes glued to the carpet. 

“Hux-”

“I said you can go now.”

So Poe left. A decision that he regretted for the rest of the day. 

The next day when he walked passed Hux in the corridor the man deliberately avoided eye contact. Poe’s heart twinged a little.

*

It was lunchtime the day after that when Hux marched into the room and headed straight to the coffee machine. While he poured his coffee Poe managed to get the perfect view of his lovely little arse. When he turned back around Rey stared at him. 

“Oh my god.”

“What?”

She grinned at him with so much joy and laughter that Poe almost smiled too. 

“What is it?” he repeated. 

“You want to fuck Hux.”

“Shhhhhh!”

“Oh my god, you’re not even denying it,” she exclaimed as laughter seeped in to his voice, “What is wrong with you? He’s a gangly, ginger arsehole.”

“He’s just sort of pretty,” Poe muttered, “Pretty boys are sort of my type.”

A little bit of Rey’s tea dribbled out of her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Poe glared at her as she continued to chuckle. Eventually she managed to recover enough to speak. 

“Hux is an arsehole. Never once has anyone ever even considered to call him pretty before.”

Now Poe knew that could not possibly be true but he decided that if he informed Rey then the situation would just get much, much worse. 

“Seriously though, I’ve never seen him do anything nice for anyone,” Rey continued, as they watched Hux march out the room, a black coffee clutched his hand. 

Han sauntered over from where he’d been chatting with Leia. 

“So have you managed to seduce Hux yet?” he asked, casually.

“Does everyone know?” Poe yelped in a little squeaky voice.

“Yep,” replied the two in unison.


End file.
